SCAM

So-Called Alternative Medicine

So-called alternative medicine (SCAM) is popular and therefore important. This book was written by someone who received SCAM as a patient, practised SCAM as a doctor, and researched SCAM as a scientist. It provides an insider's perspective by covering aspects of SCAM which most other books avoid.

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So-called alternative medicine (SCAM) is popular and therefore important, no matter whether we love or loathe it. Consequently, an impressive number of books about SCAM are already available. Most of them, however, are woefully uncritical, overtly promotional and dangerously misleading.

Not so this one!

This book was written by someone who received SCAM as a patient, practised SCAM as a doctor, and researched SCAM as a scientist. It provides an insider's perspective by covering aspects of SCAM which most other books avoid, and by questioning the many tacitly accepted assumptions and wild extrapolations that underpin SCAM. The text is factual, occasionally dosed with a touch of humour or satire. The aim is not only to inform but also to entertain.

It is written principally for members of the general public who have an interest in healthcare and are tired of the promotional counter-knowledge produced by SCAM enthusiasts. It is an exercise in critical thinking that might prevent you from wasting your money on (or endangering your health with) bogus treatments.

"Emeritus Professor Ernst is the world's number one authority on AltMed. He is a dedicated academic physician, researcher and blogger… His new book SCAM: So-Called Alternative Medicine is his journey through AltMed: what it is and why it is growing… If you’re a skeptic and/or a medical or science researcher, it’s a must."

Credit: Nick Ross

"To the dismay of honest fools and the disdain of manipulative charlatans, Ernst's new name for quackery will stick."

Credit: Preston Long, author of "Chiropractic Abuse"

"Professor Ernst has the expert trifecta of knowledge, education, & experience to write a book on SCAM that all of us should read, especially those who seek alternative care. Do yourself a favor & read this book, give one to a friend or family member that visits SCAM providers, it might just save someone you love!"

""SCAM" is a fascinating and exhaustive study of So-Called Alternative Medicine . Professor Edzard Ernst has spent many years evaluating the effectiveness of alternative therapies and all this information can be yours, via Imprint-Academic, at just £14.95. And it is worth every single penny!"

"Overall this is certainly an interesting read – with plenty of useful information with which to counter fraudsters and fakes."

Jun 30, 2018

Source: Skeptical Inquirer

Credit: Kendrick Frazier and Benjamin Radford

"Edzard Ernst may well be the most knowledgeable person in the world about so-called alternative medicine (SCAM). His voluminous published studies and writings examining its dubious claims demolish their validity and deserve our utmost consideration and attention. We welcome this latest book."

Credit: Dr Michael Baum, Ocology Specialist UCL

"Why was something so utterly and absurdly irrational, so popular amongst the comfortably off middle classes in the UK, Europe, the USA and the Antipodes? That question is addressed and answered in this brilliant, easy to read and entertaining book by Professor Ernst."

"The chapter on 'The Basics' alone is worth the price of the book. It is a concise distillation of wisdom about the principles of evaluating medical claims... [But] there is more in the book, much more... It's a gem of a book. I highly recommend it."